Latest Area News Headlines

WORTHINGTON – Terry Gaalswyk, a semifinalist under consideration for the presidency of Minnesota West Community and Technical College, made a stop at the Worthington campus Tuesday morning for a presentation and a questions and answer session.

Gaalswyk was the second of the two finalists to stop by the campus. Martin Reimer visited Monday afternoon, and Gaalswyk said the two are well acquainted and have often served as personal references for each other. Gaalswyk is currently the executive vice president at Western Nebraska Community College, where he was previously the vice...

WORTHINGTON - Minnesota West Community & Technical Worthington Campus will host a night of musical entertainment featuring the Minnesota West Choir, a student art display and showcase and a star gazing party this Friday. The Minnesota West Choir will perform beginning at 7:30 p.m. which will be followed by the student art show and reception with light refreshments at 8:15 p.m. A star gazing party will take place from 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. at the softball diamond on the southwest side of campus. Telescopes will be provided to look at the astronomical wonders of the spring sky. If you...

WORTHINGTON – The Worthington City Council on Monday listened to a proposal from Radio Works General Manager and owner Chad Cummings and Promotion Coordinator Ken Moser regarding a request that the annual Fourth of July fireworks be moved to July 3, and that they be launched from Ehlers Park instead of Centennial Park, which would free up the city’s largest community park for public viewing of the fireworks.

The proposal is part of the preliminary stages of a fundraiser for the Lake Okabena Improvement Association that would involve Radio Works providing a free music concert by a...

WORTHINGTON - All members of the Historic Dayton House are invited to attend the Annual Meeting and Membership Social which will take place at 5:15 p.m. tonight. A review of 2014 will be presented and outgoing Board of Directors, Teresa Widboom, Jane Moore, and Doug Tate will be recognized. They will also be welcoming new Board members. Complimentary appetizers and beverages will be part of the membership social. Highlights from Larry Millett’s book, “Minnesota’s Own,” which features historic homes including the Historic Dayton House, will be presented. Books will be available for...

ST. PAUL – State and federal officials are responding to additional confirmed cases of H5N2 highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry in Minnesota. The United States Department of Agriculture today confirmed the detection of the disease in Cottonwood, Lyon and Watonwan Counties, and also confirmed a fourth case in Stearns County. There are now 13 confirmed cases in the state. The disease was identified quickly due to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health’s ongoing work with the poultry industry on surveillance for HPAI. The risk to the public is very low and there is no...

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities has named two semifinalists who are under consideration to be president of Minnesota West Community & Technical College. The candidates are Terry Gaalswyk and Martin Reimer.

The candidates were recommended by a search advisory committee comprised of students, faculty, staff, and community leaders, and chaired by Joe Opatz, president emeritus of Normandale Community College. The candidates are scheduled to visit the Minnesota West Community & Technical College campuses April 13 and 14, 2015. The...

WORTHINGTON - Minnesota West Community and Technical College will hold open forums at its campuses, including Worthington, for each of the three candidates seeking the college’s position of president. Those names are expected to be released today.

The public is invited to attend any or all of the open forums at the various campuses. The candidates will begin the forums with an introduction of themselves, followed by a question and answer session. The open forums are for employees, community members and students. In Worthington, those sessions will be from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday and 8 to...

WORTHINGTON – The Okabena-Ocheda-Bella Clean Water Partnership Joint Powers Board voted Tuesday to request $13,000 from the city’s Clean Water Fund to conduct a stormwater Best Management Practices feasibility study at Prairie View Golf Course.
The board, consisting of staff of the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District, Worthington City Council and citizen members, has discussed at length the future of the Prairie View and its potential for being developed for additional water quality strategies.

WORTHINGTON – During a public meeting Tuesday evening, Nobles County Auditor/Treasurer Beth Van Hove walked the Board of Commissioners through the unfamiliar process of classifying parcels of tax forfeited property – something none of them had been through before.

Each of 23 properties was individually discussed and classified as to whether it would be publically auctioned, or sold in a sealed bid, or in one case, investigated further. The commissioners did vote unanimously to set the lowest bid price on each parcel at $1.

WORTHINGTON – Sen. Bill Weber and Rep. Rod Hamilton met with Worthington Mayor Mike Kuhle and council members Diane Graber and Mike Harmon, along with City Administrator Steve Robinson and several others to listen as Marty Seifert from the Greater Minnesota Partnership outlined the group’s priorities progress report for the 2015 Legislative session on Monday morning.

While there was discussion regarding Local Government Aid, workforce housing, job training, transportation funding and environmental regulatory reform, it is not surprising that a large amount of time was spent...